


Ease Your Suffering

by killerweasel



Category: Good Omens (TV Series)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22975918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: "It's bad, Mr. Angel, sir. The angel I found is a right mess."
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 69





	Ease Your Suffering

Title: Ease Your Suffering  
Fandom: Good Omens (TV Series)  
Characters: Aziraphale, Eric the Disposable demon, Sandalphon, Crowley  
Pairings: Aziraphale/Crowley  
Word Count: 1823  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: After Episode 6.  
Summary: "It's bad, Mr. Angel, sir. The angel I found is a right mess."

The door to the bookshop flew open and Aziraphale braced himself to have to deal with a potential customer who was 'in a hurry' or wanted something as a gift. Instead, he saw a demon standing in the doorway. The demon looked a bit familiar, he'd probably seen it while in Crowley's body down in Hell. There was a very worried look on his face.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Eric. Look, you're the only angel I know about on Earth. You're the one immune to Hellfire. Sorry about wanting to punch you, by the way. Wasn't me, it was another part of myself, but we all pretty much look the same." He seemed to realize he was getting off track and straightened up. "It's bad, Mr. Angel, sir. The angel I found is a right mess. Wings all shredded, skin burnt, bones broken..."

"Aziraphale, please." He straightened up. "Eric, was it? What are you going on about?"

"I think a bunch of lower-level demons, who popped up to the surface and got royally shit-faced, somehow managed to get the drop on an Archangel. I hear them bragging in one of the hallways. They saw me and shut up." He shook his head. "He's in a very bad way and I don't know what to do. Thought about going to Lord Beelzebub, but they'll probably discorporate me just for bothering them. Can't go up to Heaven because the same thing will happen. Smite first, ask questions later. And I did think about putting him out of his misery, but his wings would still be a mess even with a new body. Tricky things, wings are."

"Do you know which Archangel it is?" Aziraphale set down the book he'd been holding. "You need to take me to them, right now."

"He was at your trial. Bald-headed bloke. Used to have gold teeth before the demons knocked them out." Eric held his arm out. "I need you to trust me. I'll miracle us right there, I swear on my multiplicity."

"I've been trusting a demon for over six thousand years, Eric." He placed his hands on Eric's arm. "I'm not going to change that now. Take us there, please."

\---

To say Aziraphale was horrified was an understatement. He had to turn his head away from the sight in front of him for a moment in order to keep from being ill. "How many demons did this?"

"Four, maybe five? They were recalled to Hell after one of the Dukes realized they'd wandered off." Eric was crouched by Sandalphon's head. "I can't do any healing. Wasn't designed like that. Otherwise I would have made him a bit more comfortable before finding you."

"What's that wrapped around his neck and limbs?" Aziraphale took several deep breaths before kneeling down next to the badly wounded Archangel. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Unholy wire." Eric made a face. "Works on angels and demons, but it really hurts angels. Cuts them off from their Grace. It keeps them from healing or using miracles. Hastur used it on me a few times when he needed to work out some anger. Also prevents you from dying before the user is finished having fun."

"That's why he hasn't discorporated." Carefully avoiding the pools of crimson and gold blood on the ground, Aziraphale leaned forward and placed his hand on Sandalphon's forehead. He focused on the Archangel's essence. Nothing seemed permanently damaged. "Can I touch the wire or will it harm me?"

"I should probably do it."

"Here's what we're going to do." Aziraphale sat back. "We'll do one section at a time. You remove the wire and I'll heal the area. I won't do a full healing, I don't have that much energy and he's a mess, but I will deal with the injuries as best as I can to keep him from dying. Once he's stable, I'll take him to my cottage."

By the time they'd removed all the wire, Aziraphale was exhausted. He swiped at the sweat dripping from his brow. "It's been ages since I've had to do that much healing." He sighed. "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"I'm not sure. Never seen that much wire used on an angel of his power level before. You'll probably want to get him somewhere safe before he's conscious. Doubt the demons will come back, but..."

"Right." Aziraphale set one hand on Sandalphon's arm and the other on Eric's shoulder. "Eric, you don't need to come with me. You've done more than enough, making sure he got help. If you wish to come, that's fine. Our place is considered neutral territory, so if any angels do show up, they can't harm you."

"Honestly, you're the nicest person I've been around in a very long time. You haven't tried to hurt me or kill me. You actually listened to what I had to say." He scuffed his foot. "I'd like to come with you for a bit before they need me back Down Below. Might not be able to heal, but I can still be helpful."

Aziraphale gave Eric a blinding smile. "In that case, let's go."

\---

Crowley swallowed down the fear he'd been feeling all afternoon. Aziraphale hadn't been at the bookshop when he'd arrived to get the angel for lunch. Once again, he found the cell phone he'd given Aziraphale tucked away in the drawer of the desk instead of on the angel where it could actually be of use. He hadn't been able to find a note explaining where the angel had gone either.

He hadn't been really worried until he'd caught a whiff of demon by the bookshop door. It hadn't been from anyone strong enough to do serious damage, but if a minor-level idiot had caught the angel unaware, Aziraphale might be in trouble. Crowley had called Book Girl and the Antichrist, neither of which had heard from the angel. Without anything to go on, he locked the bookshop, and drove back to the cottage at a ridiculous rate of speed, even for him.

The fear increased tenfold as he approached the door of the cottage. Along with Aziraphale, he could feel a minor demonic presence and an incredibly powerful angelic one. It had to be one of the Archangels. He couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation as to why all three of them would be together. Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside.

Crowley grabbed one of the fireplace pokers as he walked through the cottage. He might not be able to take down an Archangel, but he'd sure as Heaven try to bash their skull in if they were harming his angel. Laughter from the guest room made him pause. He quietly set the poker down on the floor, pasted a fake smile on his face, and walked to the doorway of the room.

"My dear boy, we have guests." Aziraphale was holding a tray with tea, small cakes, and some biscuits. "I think you know Eric, or at least some version of himself. Sandalphon will be staying with us for a few days until he's recovered enough to leave."

Crowley stared at the Disposable demon long enough for Eric to flinch. Then he focused on the Archangel. Sandalphon looked like death warmed over. "What the Heaven happened to you?"

"I was careless." Sandalphon's fingers traced over the marks on his throat left from the wire. "I foolishly thought I could go to a festival in Spain without a bunch of drunken demons taking me by surprise. I remember being struck in the back of the head with something hard. Most of what followed is a blur. Once they had the Unholy wire on me, everything got hazy. Then they hurt me. I woke up here."

"I recognized the place the demons were talking about, so I went to check it out and found him. I went to the only angel I could think of." Eric snagged a biscuit from the tray. "We worked together and here we are."

Aziraphale clapped a hand over his mouth. "Lunch. I forgot to leave you a note! Oh, my dear, you must have been so worried. I'm sorry."

Crowley shrugged. "Just make sure you take your phone if you have to leave like that again, angel."

"I'll try to remember." Aziraphale set the tray on the end table. "Can you help me with Sandalphon's wings? I used quite a bit of energy healing his other wounds earlier and I know you have experience with wing injuries."

"Are you okay with that?" Crowley waited for the Archangel's nod. "You should probably get on your stomach if you can. It'll give us better access. What we need to do is straighten the bones out before they start to heal or you'll end up being a mess permanently. Once we get everything in place, you use your Grace to kick-start the healing. I'm going to warn you, it'll hurt like Hell for a bit."

"I can help with that." Eric wiped his hands on his jeans. "You just hold onto my hands, Sandalphon. Doesn't matter if you break 'em. I've had worse. Besides, these two can fix me up again."

With a bit of help from Aziraphale, Sandalphon managed to get onto his stomach. Manifesting his wings from the ether made him whimper in pain. Crowley winced at the sight of managed and missing feathers hanging from shattered bones. Sandalphon reached out, taking Eric's hands in his own. He took a deep breath. "Go ahead."

Working together, Aziraphale and Crowley start with the left wing first. It was the more damaged of the two and took a bit of maneuvering to get the bones back where they belonged. Sandalphon went pale and then started crying out in pain as his wing was stretched. He squeezed Eric's hands as the agony grew worse. His Grace took over, tracing along the bones, and slowly repairing the damage.

After a short rest, they repeated the action with the right wing. Sweat had broken out on Eric's face, but he didn't jerk out of Sandalphon's grip. The pain in his hands was nothing compared to what the Archangel was feeling.

"Thank you, everyone."

Sandalphon didn't move from where he was sprawled, it would take more energy than he had, but he carefully removed his hands from Eric's. Eric held his fingers out to Aziraphale who quickly repaired any fractures.

"I don't really have anywhere I need to be, so I could keep Sandalphon company and you guys can go get that lunch you missed." Eric grinned at them. "That is, if you trust me to be in your house while you're gone."

"Considering you helped save an Archangel's life, I think you're more than welcome here." Aziraphale exchanged a look with Crowley. "What do you say, my dear? Shall we go get a bite to eat?"

"Whatever you want, angel."


End file.
